Beloved Kalamazoo Mexican Eateries Underpay Employees, Feds Say

Three Mexican restaurants in the Kalamazoo area are now being sued by the Federal Government for failing to pay their employees the minimum wage.

The lawsuit was filed in US District Court in Grand Rapids earlier this month, against the Los Amigos restaurants in Kalamazoo and Portage, as well as the Riviera Maya Bar and Grill, and five people connected to these businesses.

According to the full text of the lawsuit from WWMT, the businesses are accused of paying their kitchen and waitstaff a flat weekly fee for their work, regardless of how many hours they actually worked; since they regularly worked more than 40 hours per week, this resulted in an hourly minimum wage less than the federal $7.25 per hour required.

The lawsuit also claims that the employees weren’t paid for their overtime, and that the restaurants falsified their records by not keeping track of hours worked in excess of 40 a week. The feds want back wages to be paid to the employees, and for the violations of federal law to stop.

A formal response has not yet been formulated by Los Amigos, Riviera Maya, or the individuals named.